Lost and Forgotten
by Random Girl Katriana
Summary: Lily and James Potter live a full life in America. There is one problem, though-They can't remember anything before 16 years ago. Their whole life is based on one memory...of someone named Harry....Ch. 4 up! (Warning: Child Abuse)
1. Ch 1

OK, here's the deal. I've been trying and trying with that damn truth or dare thinger, but it's just not coming! So I'm going to try a new idea. It's probably been done a gazillion times before, but here goes!

Just so you know, here are some **things that happened** in this fic that may or may not have happened in the book: Harry's parent's bodies were never found, but they are believed dead. Lily didn't give her love to Harry by dying, but by offering herself instead. That's why he could protect himself up until book four.

P.S. The PoV will alternate between Lily, James, Harry, and third person. Give a shout and tell me what you think and if you want me to continue! (Honestly, if you've seen something too similar to this, or if it just plain sucks, tell me. I want to know.) *~*~*~*~*=view/scene change

P.S. Some things may be unconsistent. I haven't had time to check it over it. Tell me what you find.

*~*~*~*~*

I have a wonderful life. I have a beautiful wife, and a darling child, both of whom I love with all my heart. I have a great job as a photographer for a successful newspaper. Sure, I have to use a piece of shit camera, but I don't mind. It still takes beautiful pictures.

But sometimes, I feel like something's missing. I try to think back on my life and see what could be missing.

Then the memories come.

They come from nowhere. Sometimes they come when I'm awake, but mostly when I'm asleep.

((Flashback))

*~*~*~*~*

__

With a tremendous crash, the front door fell off its hinges and hit the floor. A dark shadow stood in the doorway, outline by an occasional strike of lightning.

"What the flipping hell?" a man said as he round the corner of the living room, and his eyes fell upon the dark figure.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's Him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"

"Not likely," the figure hissed, and with a swift movement of his wand, the man was plastered to the wall, unable to move his hands and feet.

"No! Run, Lily!" the man shouted. "Please, leave them alone!"

"I don't want you, boy… I want your son."

"NO! HARRY!"

But the figure was already up the stairs, and in the nursery. The man could hear 'Lily' perfectly, but it was agonizing for him to be unable to help her.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl. I don't want you. I want the boy."

"Take me! Kill me instead! James!" But, with a sudden shriek, 'Lily' came flying backwards down the stairs. 'James', the man stretched his neck as far as it would go, and saw 'Lily' crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. He gave a quick sigh of relief when he saw her chest rise and fall, rise and fall.

"Harry!" 'James' screamed up the stairs. "No! Not my boy! My baby!"

The next thing he saw was a bright green light and the house crumpled around him.

*~*~*~*~*

((End Flashback))

I don't know who Harry is. Maybe I should be an author instead, to invent such a tale. A son I never had. Sheesh!

Or at least, I never think I had him. You see, I can't remember anything before 16 years ago, except that all-too-real dream. My first memory is of waking up in a New York hospital with my wife, Lily. My whole life, my name, my marriage, is all based on that one memory. The doctors called it "selective amnesia". 

But the memory is so clear. That is the only memory I have of before 16 years ago, and my wife has none.

But now, we're going home.

After 16 years, we're finally going home. 

__

To Be Continued…???

*~*~*~*~*

I seem to be having trouble developing an excuse for them to be completely isolated from everyone else, so that Dumbledore can't reach them. Does this make any sense at all? Please tell me!


	2. Ch 3

On with it!  
  
The first few hours of the flight went by almost sluggishly, and James had managed to ease his anxiety with a few glasses of scotch. He was now sleeping peacefully between the two most important girls in his life--his wife and his daughter.  
  
Gia stared at her father, sighed, and peered out the window. All she could see was white and blue, blue and white. They were over the ocean now, and she was becoming dreadfully bored.  
  
'Man,' she thought. 'I should've brought a book, or a CD player, or something! I'm bored out of my mind!' She began to let her mind wander, as she often did when she was trying to get to sleep, or when she was supposed to be taking notes in school.  
  
She was jolted viscously out of her reverie...she had been kicked sharply in the leg.  
  
"Dad! Son of a..." She wheeled around to yell at her father for kicking her for no reason, and was met with a strange sight. Her father, still asleep, was thrashing around wildly, flailing his arms and twitching. "Dad!" She said, turning a bright crimson as her father's frantic movements began to attract and annoy other passengers. "Wake up!"  
  
"James?" Lily asked nervously, have only just now noticed her husband's odd behavior. "James, wake up! You're scaring me!"  
  
James, however, did not heed either of them. He was lost in a very disturbing dream.  
  
James couldn't see a thing. He had the oddest sensation, feeling as if his physical body did not weigh him down.  
  
'What's the use of being totally without boundaries if you can't see anything?' He thought. Usually in his dreams, he was restricted to acting through a human body, or at least a body of some kind. He had never been the omnipotent being in his own mind.  
  
Suddenly he was harshly aware of something contrasting the bleakness of his dream. It was a small crouching figure, bathed in a dim green light. It had wild black hair that crowned it's small head regally, if not messily. It was a boy, probably only 5 or 6 years old. He was hugging his knees to his chest and his head was drooped in submission. James felt a sudden urge to reach out and comfort the boy.  
  
"I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon," he whimpered, never looking up. "I didn't mean to step on Aunt Petunia's marigolds. I'll never do it again!"  
  
"Sorry isn't good enough, you little monster!" A disembodied voice bellowed. The boy rose to his feet, his head still bowed, and as he did, he seemed to age a few years. He now looked about 9 or 10. The boy raised his head, and James recognized Lily's brilliant green eyes embedded like jewels in his thin red face. James' vision flew to a jagged scar now visible on the boy's forehead.  
  
"Dudley," the boy said obviously frightened. "Please don't! That's my favorite figurine! It's a Knight of the Round-"He jumped back and looked at his feet as James heard a distance smash of broken porcelain. The boy fought back tears as he aged 5 or 6 more years. He was now 16, James could tell, as he was already into the hell they call puberty, and was starting to overcome the initial awkwardness. But James could sense something had changed about the boy. His eyes were bright, and his face was no longer etched with sadness.  
  
"And so Dudley says," he laughed to someone on his right. "'You wouldn't dare, you freak, or I'll call the police' and I just go all white, I'm sure it was very frightening, and I start mumbling all this gibberish under my breath!" The person on his right laughed heartily, before stopping and allowing him to continue. "Well, he ran so fast, I thought he would break a hole through the door instead of opening it! Oh, I got whooped pretty good by my Uncle for that, but Ron, it was so worth it!"  
  
Suddenly, the boy turned to James, and stared right in his 'eyes'. "Why'd you have to go, Dad?" he asked quietly. "I miss you."  
  
"Harry?!?!" James said, louder than he had intended to, for he wasn't sure if he had a voice at this point. He did, as he heard it bounce off invisible walls.  
  
As if he appeared out of thin air, another person appeared behind the boy. He was thin, tall, and his dull eyes stared out at James from their sunken sockets. "I promised, James," he whispered, his voice seeming to be carried by an invisible wind. "I'm promised that if anything ever happened to you, I'd take care of him." He smiled, and put his hand on the boys' shoulder.  
  
"I promised I'd take care of Harry."  
  
James was literally blown out of his dream by the mention of that name...the name of the one he had lost. In his surprise, he accidentally propelled himself forward, out of his chair, and into the back of the chair in front of him.  
  
"Ouch! Shit, what the hell just happened?" James swore, rubbing his injured head. It took him a few seconds to remember the dream. "Oh, my God..."  
  
"Dad!" Gia fumed. If looks could kill, James would be dead a thousand times over. "You old kook, you're such an embarrassment!" She crossed her arms and turned away, furious.  
  
"James," Lily said quietly, staring at James intently. "What just happened?"  
  
James put his head in his hands and murmured. "Another dream, but this one was totally different. I'll tell you later."  
  
The remainder of the flight passed in silence. James had switched places with Gia, and stared out the window for hours, lost in thought. Gia's anger at her father's embarrassing actions had dissipated into boredom, and Lily occupied her time with an entertainment magazine. She occasionally glanced over at her husband, her face etched with worry.  
  
James' eyes were glazed and bloodshot as he watched the clouds gliding underneath the plane.  
  
'So that's Harry...' he thought. He put his head in his hands, as if trying to hold on the memory of his son.... his son.... Even now, the words sounded weird to him. His beautiful son. He had his fathers' hair and Lily's vivacious eyes...but that scar...something about it struck a chord with James. He remembered the man that had been with Harry, that thin, disheveled man that had the look about him that he had been through hell and back.  
  
'My God,' he thought suddenly. 'What am I doing? I am dragging my family half way across the world, and for what? A dream? A realistic dream, yes, but a dream all the same. I must be going insane.'  
  
He shook his head, trying to rid himself of this thought. 'Well, there's nothing I can do about it now, I just have to try.'  
  
James and Gia switched spots once again, and James outlined his vivid dream for Lily. Her eyes widened in a mixture of surprise, anxiousness, and sorrow.  
  
"James, what are we going to do? Where do we start looking?" She exclaimed softly.  
  
"I don't know," he sighed. "I guess we start from the beginning."  
  
"I swear, boy, one more trick like that, and it'll be the beginning of the end for you!" Vernon Dursley shouted, his large face blushing fiercely and flawlessly resembling a tomato.  
  
"Yes, Uncle." Harry said dutifully, knowing it was very much the truth. Hedwig had inexplicably freed herself from her cage, and had almost done away with the neighbor's Chihuahua.  
  
"But, Uncle..." Harry said cautiously as his uncle turned into the hall. "You really can't blame me for that. She was hungry! I can't keep her locked up all summer, she'll die!"  
  
Vernon stopped in his tracks and whirled around, looking strangely calm and thoughtful. "She'd.... Die.... What an idea..." His wide face split into a malevolent grin as he stared at Harry.  
  
"U-uncle Vernon?" Harry whispered as Vernon began to stalk towards the bed, where Harry was sitting with his empty cage. He knew what was coming. Either the switch, which Dudley would fetch from the large poplar in the back yard, the belt, or the yardstick. He was used to it.  
  
It had been worse this summer. The stress of keeping Harry's 'abnormality' a secret was beginning to take its toll on Vernon. Dudley had enjoyed watching his cousin suffer at first, but now he was starting to lose interest. Harry even imagined he saw a look of concern on his face once. Petunia had never approved of violence, no matter how she despised her nephew, but did not dare to stand up to her 6-foot tall, 275-lb. husband.  
  
Knowing that if Sirius, Harry's godfather, didn't hear from him, they would be as good as dead, once they forced Harry to scribble a quick letter and, closely supervised, he would send Hedwig out with it. However, Vernon had caught him trying to send Ron a SOS, and had locked Hedwig up permanently. It had been a week and a half since she had been let out, and Harry figured she yearned for fresh meat instead of stale bread.  
  
Vernon grabbed Harry's small wrist, and raised his other hand in the air. He brought down with a crack across Harry's face. The force of the blow sent Harry reeling across the bed, and he hit his head, causing a large semi spherical dent in the wall.  
  
Harry bit his lip hard to keep from crying out, and he gingerly placed a hand on the back of his hand, where a bump was already beginning to grow. Little black spots danced in front of his eyes.  
  
But Vernon wasn't done yet.  
  
He grabbed the closest object, Hedwig's cage, and wretched it quickly across Harry's temple, sending him flying into the other wall. Pictures shook and crashed to the floor, and Petunia and Dudley finally emerged in the doorway.  
  
"Vernon!" Petunia shrieked. "Stop! You'll kill him!"  
  
Vernon, who had raised the owl's cage in the air again, stopped in mid- swing and turned to his wife. The twisted smile on his face sent shivers down his family's spines. In three long steps, Vernon crossed the room, shoved his family out the door, and locked it. Outside in the hall, Petunia pounded on the door, screaming at her husband. Dudley, who looked frightened enough to wet his pants, waddled as fast as he could into his room.  
  
Vernon continued to rain blows on Harry's head and body. Harry, who was barely clinging on to consciousness, could only hear Petunia's frightened cries outside the door and the occasional clang of the cage as it collided with his skin.  
  
Suddenly, everything was silent. Harry's eyelids were aching to close as he gazed at the door. Every few seconds, it would shake fiercely. All of a sudden, the entire door exploded into bits, raining slivers of wood on Harry and Vernon.  
  
Standing in the doorframe was the gaunt, wiry figure of Sirius Black. 


	3. Ch 2

A'ight, sorry for the loooong hiatus, but, long story short, I was grounded off the computer for a month! It almost drove me to madness!!  
  
I showed this chapter to my friend/editor, Jessica, and she said she got lost. If the same thing happens to you, tell me exactly where and I'll try to revise it!  
  
P.S. just in case you can't figure it out, the first section is Lil's PoV, and the rest is 3rd person!   
  
I'm worried about my husband. He spends all his time in the den, on that blasted computer. Doing "research", he says. He only goes out for work, meals, and a few hours of sleep. He is really obsessed with this idea of "going home".  
  
Myself, I'm perfectly happy the way we are! But now that fool of a man has it in his head that he won't be complete unless he finds our past!  
  
You see...my husband, James, hasn't been quite right lately...I mean, up there. He mutters in his sleep...something about a green light and "Harry"...he has visions of our life before the hospital, before this life. He says this Harry child was ours...before the incident.  
  
"Lily, our son..." he says to me, when he does speak to me. "Our child! He may have grown up without parents for 16 years!"  
  
"Or he could have died 16 years ago! You have a child! You have a daughter!" I say to him. "Do you want Gia to grow up without a father, because we had to put you in a home?!" He just laughs.  
  
Who knows? Maybe we did have a son! But why would I want to open that can of worms? Of course, it's not that I don't feel for the child...if there is one...it's just that I don't want to feel for him! What if I were to get all worked up like my husband, only to find out I lost a child 16 years ago? No, I couldn't bear it...  
  
The screen door closed with a clatter, and Gia walked into the kitchen, smiling. "Yes!" she sighed as she threw her backpack on the floor. "Last day of Grade 8! Good riddance!"  
  
She immediately sprinted for the fridge, and dug out a piece of carrot cake. 'I'm famished!' She thought. 'I wonder where Mom and Dad are?'  
  
She chewed on her cake thoughtfully, and pushed her shining auburn hair out of her eyes. Though her parents tried to hide it from her, she could feel the rift between them. From what she had gathered through the door of their bedroom, they thought that she might have a brother in England! A big brother!  
  
Her parents' past was no secret from her. They had told her everything on the day she was old enough to realize that their accent was different from everyone else's. They often shared anecdotes from their long hospital stay with her. Their favorite was how after 3 years of healing from the mental and physical scars, the just couldn't keep their hands off each other, and on the day they were given a clean bill of health...well, that's how she was conceived.  
  
But there were some things that weren't clear to her, or to her parents, from what she gathered. What happened to her parents in England? How did they get to New York, where she lived now?  
  
'That's probably why Dad is so gung-ho about finding their past,' Gia thought as she licked the last of the icing from the carrot cake. 'It would be so cool if I had an older brother, like I've always wanted! An English older brother!'  
  
Gia had purposely waited until she had polished off her cake until calling out for her parents, but it seemed now like she didn't need too. She could hear her mother's light footsteps running down the stairs. 'Running?' She thought, and she quickly threw her cake bowl into the sink.  
  
"No James, I won't hear of it!" Lily's shrill voice shrieked. "You get that idea out of your head right now, or I'll..."  
  
"But Lily," James' voice pleaded and he tromped down the stairs after her. "Please! I can't go another second without knowing where we came from! You know, deep down, that you want to too!"  
  
"Of course I do! Don't you think I lie awake at night, thinking about what our life was like? Don't you think that's haunted me too? Don't make me seem like the bad one! I want to protect us! I want to protect your daughter!"  
  
"From what?"  
  
"From that thing! You said, that in your visions, you see a dark man! You said it was him that destroyed the house we lived in! It was him that killed-"  
  
"Don't you say that! We don't know that he's dead!"  
  
"We barely escaped! We still don't know how we made it to America!"  
  
"I don't care what you say! I'm going to England!" They were standing in the next room now. They would be in the kitchen any second. "I've scheduled the time off with the newspaper! If you want to stay here with your daughter and rest on your laurels, fine! But I'm going to find our son!"  
  
They both stopped dead. They were in the kitchen now, and were staring blankly at Gia, who stared right back at them.  
  
"Uh, honey..."Lily started. "How much did you-"  
  
"You're going to England to find my brother, Daddy?" She squeaked, unsure what else to say. "Cool! Can I'm come too? I've always wanted an older brother!"  
  
James' jaw dropped open, and he had to push his glasses up several times before he could respond. "You....you knew?"  
  
"Yeah...sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it was an accident!" She put her head down respectfully. "But please, mom! I'm not scared of any old man! If I have a brother who's out there all alone, I wanna find out! If he's dead...well, we can pay our respects! Please mom! I wanna go!!"  
  
"Yeah, please Mom!" James said with a boyish grin. "Pleeeeeeeeaaase?" They said together.  
  
Lily looked about ready to blow a fuse, but when she looked at her daughter's pleading eyes, her expression softened. 'My daughter deserves to know if she has a brother,' she thought. 'I deserve to know if I have a son. And the man...he was probably killed in the house too...Yes, that's it. The evil man was killed in the house.' Lily forced herself to believe it. "Well...I guess we could use a vacation..."  
  
"YES!" Gia and James cried, leaping in the air!  
  
"We can leave right away!" James said excitedly. "I book us the tickets, you two go get packed!"  
  
"Now wait a moment! I..." but Lily's protests fell on deaf ears, as her husband and daughter were already rushing up the stairs to pack.  
  
As she followed them up stairs to explain that no, the couldn't leave right away, that there were certain preparations to be made, she couldn't help but feel a gnawing in the pit of her stomach, like something bad was going to happen. She quickly shrugged it off, and proceeded up the stairs to scold her husband and daughter.  
  
Exactly one week later, and approximately the same time, their plane took off from J.F.K airport.  
  
James was clutching the armrest so hard his knuckles started to turn white. On either side of him, his wife a daughter gazed anxiously at him.  
  
"James," Lily said calmly. "What's the problem? The house is locked up, everything is taken care of-"  
  
"Lily," He said through clenched teeth. "I'm afraid of flying."  
  
((AN: James, the star Quidditch player of his year...afraid of flying?! The irony of it all!)) 


	4. Ch 4

I wrote this well before the actual fifth book came out, so it will be very different-what with the lack of death-of-my-favorite-character and all. I may add some things here and there.  
  
You've all heard my excuses. On with it!!!  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
He had no weapon; no gun, no wand, nothing. It took Vernon a few seconds of ugly squinting to recognize him. He had, of course, seen his picture on the news.  
  
"Sirius Black!" Vernon squeaked. "Petunia, call the police!" But Petunia stood still in the hall behind Sirius, Dudley's fat little arms wrapped around her waste. Her face was a mixture of fear, surprise, and a strange understanding. She yanked Dudley rather roughly away from the mess of flying wood pieces and downstairs into the sitting room, where they sat tensely, waiting.  
  
"Petunia! Petunia!!!" Vernon called after her, slowly backing into a corner. "Oh no.."  
  
"Damn right, 'oh no'." Sirius croaked. In one fluid motion, he had changed into his dog form, lunged at Vernon, and knocked him to the floor.  
  
As he sat on Vernon's chest, growling and foaming at the mouth, Harry had gathered all the strength he had left to whisper, "Sirius, don't."  
  
Sirius the dog was seconds away from snapping Vernon's fat little neck between his massive jaws, but he leapt off his chest immediately and padded to Harry's side. He transformed back into human, and picked up Harry in his thin arms. For someone who had been on the run from the law and practically starving for two years, he was surprisingly strong. "It's ok, Harry," he whispered, freeing one arm from his burden and brushing Harry's hair from his sweaty and bleeding brow. "I'll get you out of here." Harry smiled weakly up at him, and fainted against Sirius' chest.  
  
Sirius shot a terrifying look at Vernon, who cowered in the corner. Not quite satisfied that he had knocked enough fear into him, he muttered, "After all you did.he wants you to live. If I ever see your great ruddy face again, you'll beg for death before I'm done with you." Vernon grimaced, and began blubbering and pleading for his life. Sirius turned away in disgust, and made his way down the stairs.  
  
When he entered the living room, Petunia stood up and hid Dudley behind her, though he was as wide as three of her. "Where's his things?" Sirius asked quietly in a threatening tone.  
  
"V-Vernon put them in the cupboard under the stairs," Petunia stammered. Sirius walked into the hall, unlocked and opened the cupboard door, and grabbed Harry's already packed trunk, all while still holding Harry in his arms.  
  
Curiosity finally got the better of her, and Petunia crept into the hall. The door was open and swinging in the wind, and Harry and Sirius were gone.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
When Harry finally awoke from his dreamless sleep, he was not in the Dursley house. He was in a shabby motel room, with a wretched color scheme of rust brown and puke green, and the sound of the London streets rumbled outside his window. As the black shadows began to melt away from the edges of his eyes, he saw stranger was sitting on the end of his bed. Even without his glasses, he could see it was a man with messy black hair and deep chocolate eyes. It looked like his father. He scrambled to find his glasses, (which, to his surprise, were in perfect condition).  
  
"Dad?" He whispered, his face trembling with a mixture of pain and hope. Hedwig, who sat in her cage on the small desk, hooted happily at Harry's awakening.  
  
"No, sorry Harry." The man said, looking truly pained. "It's just me, Sirius. I took a lock of James' hair you had in your scrapbook and made a Polyjuice potion. It hasn't worn off yet." He pointed to a small silver flask on the cheap bedside table.  
  
"But." Even though his head was pounding miserably, a thought managed to poke its way in. "A polyjuice potion takes a month to make."  
  
"Uh." James/Sirius blushed. "Well, I kinda sped it up a little. I was never the patient one. It only took two weeks, but it only lasts for half an hours, so I made lots." Slowly, James/Sirius skin began to change, and in a few seconds, he was just Sirius again. "You understand, don't you? It was necessary for me to change my appearance. What if someone were to recognize me?"  
  
"Right.Two weeks?" Harry groaned. "Have I been out that long?"  
  
"In and out," Sirius said as he smoothed an imaginary wrinkled on the sheets. "You had a very high fever when we left..that place..and you had some broken bones, and a severe concussion, and--well, a lot of things. I had to find someone to take adequate care of you--"  
  
Suddenly, the door swung open noisily. Remus Lupin, looking rather windblown, came into the room with an armful of bags. "Ok, Sirius, I got the dreamless sleep potion, and enough groceries to last us a few days.Oh, good, Harry's awake." Remus plunked the bags onto the desk next to Hedwig, and wiped a trickled of sweat off his brow. "Hot out there today."  
  
"Speak of the devil," Sirius smiled as he stood up and began rummaging through the bags. "I don't suppose you happened to pick up any whiskey?"  
  
"With our budget? Dream on, Padfoot."  
  
"Your budget," Harry murmured. "Where did you get the money to buy that stuff?"  
  
Remus and Sirius suddenly went very red in the face. "Um, well, ah.." Sirius stuttered.  
  
"Ah, I'm very sorry Harry," Remus said quietly, looking very sheepish. "I've been unable to find a very well-paying job since my stay at Hogwarts, and you needed medical attention desperately. We had to dip into the savings you had in your trunk." He pointed to trunk on the floor beside the desk. "We're so sorry, and we promise we'll pay you back as soon as we have the chance.."  
  
"Oh, is that it?" Harry chuckled lightly, but stopped when his ribs pinched painfully. "I thought you'd robbed a bank or something. That's not a problem. If you need more, I think I'm well enough to take a trip to Gringotts." Seeing the surprised look on Sirius's face, he added. "You didn't think my parents would leave me with nothing, did you?"  
  
Remus and Sirius laughed heartily, and smiled. "Such a generous boy.you really are your fathers' son." Remus sighed. "I'll take you, if you're up to it. Sirius, save the rest of that polyjuice potion for when you really need it."  
  
"Ok then," Harry yawned. "Just let me sleep.a little longer." And he promptly fell against his pillows in a deep sleep.  
  
Sirius looked wide-eyed at Remus. "He just slept for 30 hours straight!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Now that they had landed, James' head cleared, and he decided exactly what they were going to do first.  
  
"Ok, here's the plan," James said brightly as they wheeled their luggage out of the airport. "We'll find a hotel, and then we'll rent a car. We're going to Surrey!"  
  
"Why Surrey?" Lily asked curiously.  
  
"It may be entirely possible that we have relatives there. The Dursley's, if I'm not mistaken. Vernon and Petunia." James grimaced slightly as he thought of the people his son had been 'talking' to in his dream. Petunia's marigolds.  
  
James, despite his anxiety over his rash decision to come to England, had decided not to land in England unprepared. He had done some research on the plane, on his laptop, after he had the dream. Through a random internet search engine, he had come across Vernon Dursley, a man who sold drills in Surrey. On his company's website, it said he had a 'beautiful wife named Petunia, and a son named Dudley.' What were the odds?  
  
James signaled for a cab, and as the family piled into the backseat, he said to the driver "Do you know of any good hotels?"  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Harry breathed deeply as he and Remus strolled through downtown London. 'I'm home,' he thought, right before he coughed raggedly from all the smog he had just inhaled.  
  
"Are you ok, Harry?" Remus asked, looking at his young charge.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry beamed back.  
  
Remus smiled as Harry took in everything about the busy sidewalk they were on, although he had seen it many times before. 'He's as curious as a toddler,' Remus said to himself. 'He's so innocent, even after all he's been through. 15 years of that!' Remus frowned in spite of himself when he thought of Vernon Dursley's pudgy face. Though he was a peaceful man by nature (well, most of the time), he would love see Vernon deal with a werewolf bite on his corpulent neck.  
  
"What's wrong Remus?" Harry asked as he spied Remus's scowl. The sound of Harry's voice-once high and innocent, now deep and full of pain-made Remus shake his head. What he wouldn't give for James to be here to enjoy his son's life.  
  
"Nothing, Harry, just concentrating."  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
When Remus and Harry emerged from Diagon Alley, both there pockets were bulging with knuts and galleons, as well as some 5-pounds notes. Remus had needed to put a space-increasing charm on his pocket just to fit in the necessary amounts, which he had not needed to do for some time. From both of their arms hung bags of potion ingredients and some wizard treats for Harry.  
  
Harry did not feel sad leaving the cheery wizarding shops, as he knew he would be returning in less than two weeks to buy his school supplies. Although he loved spending time with Remus and Sirius in that dingy little motel room, he longed for the company of his friends. He was also feeling particularly keen to increase his marks in his 6th year after taking the N.E.W.T.S last year. If he wanted to specialize in Defence Against the Dark Arts, he would have to study harder.  
  
As he walked absent-mindedly along the busy muggle Street, he gazed at the people passing on the sidewalk or on the street. After spending the last 5 years in the wizarding world, it never ceased to amaze him how naive muggles were about what went on every day right under there noses.  
  
'Look,' Harry thought to himself. 'There's a young mother walking her child to the toy store. She has no idea that Voldemort would just as soon kill her as help her across the street.' It was when Harry thought about these things that he became the most depressed.  
  
Harry gazed at taxi that was heading towards them on the road. 'That looks like a young family on a vacation,' Harry thought. 'They'll never know the awful way my family died.'  
  
As the taxi passed them, he saw what looked like the father taking rapid- fire to his with, a serious woman with long red hair whose face Harry could not quite see. The man turned his face slightly-the black unruly hair, the deep brown eyes-it couldn't be, it was impossible.  
  
A vioce in Harry's head said 'You're sick boy, imagining your dead parents on the street.' Harry's world spun and his eyes rolled back in his head. Remus caught him roughly before he hit the ground.  
  
*~*~*~*~* 


End file.
